Understanding the dosimetric powder EPR spectrum of sucrose by identification of the stable radiation-induced radicals.

Abstract

Sucrose, the main component of table sugar, present in nearly every household and quite radiation sensitive, is considered as an interesting emergency dosemeter. Another application of radiation-induced radicals in sugars is the detection of irradiation in sugar-containing foodstuffs. The complexity of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of radicals in these materials, as a result of many hyperfine interactions and the multi-compositeness of the spectra of individual sugars, complicate dose assessment and the improvement of protocols for control and identification of irradiated sugar-containing foodstuffs using EPR. A thorough understanding of the EPR spectrum of individual irradiated sugars is desirable when one wants to reliably use them in a wide variety of dosimetric applications. Recently, the dominant room temperature stable radicals in irradiated sucrose have been thoroughly characterised using EPR, electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and ENDOR-induced EPR. These radicals were structurally identified by comparing their proton hyperfine and g-tensors with the results of Density Functional Theory calculations for test radical structures. In this paper, the authors use the spin Hamiltonian parameters determined in these studies to simulate powder EPR spectra at the standard X-band (9.5 GHz), commonly used in applications, and at higher frequencies, up to J-band (285 GHz), rendering spectra with higher resolution. A few pitfalls in the simulation process are highlighted. The results indicate that the major part of the dosimetric spectrum can be understood in terms of three dominant radicals, but as-yet unidentified radicals also contribute in a non-negligible way.